Poor Man's Chopped: Canned Tuna, Shallots, Mini Tortillas, Baby Bellos

So I'm broke and starving in my buddy's apartment in Brooklyn. I'm thinking I can just go to bed and wake up in the morning and deal with feeding myself then. But of course, I put on "Chopped" from my DVR back home in LA from my Sling. I find my culinary motivation and head to the kitchen.

Ingredients:

Canned White Albacore Tuna
Shallots
Mini Tortillas
Baby Bellos

Result: Fish Tacos

I see the dreaded canned tuna, shallots and mini tortillas and the first thing I think is fish tacos. I take a quick glance in the barren fridge and see mayo, cheese and butter. Grab the pan throw on some butter a get it melting. I reach for the shallots and cut them up finely and get them caramelizing and start chopping up my baby portabellos. Get them off the stove and combine them with my tuna and mayo. Open up the cupboard and see balsamic vinaigrette, throw the baby bellos on the stove with some balsamic - reduce. Combine shrooms with fish taco filling, add more butter to pan, and get the mini tortilla goin'. Flip the MT once crisp throw some of my fish taco filling. I grate some of the fresh cheese (parm & sharp cheddar) on top and wait for it to melt. Remove from stove and roll. Repeat process three time.

All and all, I'm full and content. Not bad for what I had to work with.

Creativity: 7
Taste: 6
Repeat Dish: 2

Overall Score: 5

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ThruYou - Kutiman Mixes YouTube

I have to say this is exceptionally cool... the music is reminicent of DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist albums and it's just fun to watch and listen to...

ThruYou

Check it out!

Introduced to me by CharlesTheFourth

Amazon vs. Best Buy

While shopping for electronics, I typically make my purchases at either Amazon or Best Buy. It's the clash of the TITANS! Retail Electronic Mega Store vs. The "We Sell Everything!" Virtual Store. I am a Best Buy Reward Zone member and an Amazon Prime member, both come with their advantages...

Reward Zone vs. Prime

Amazon Prime: Amazon prime is about $70 per year. If you sign up for Amazon prime you basically get free 2 day shipping on all eligible products (which the stuff I buy mostly is). You can upgrade to overnight shipping for $4, but I never do, and I can't imagine many other people do either. This is pretty much the only benefit of Amazon Prime Membership. Considering all of the online shopping that I do annually, going Prime, still saves me a grip of money. Amazon is not always the cheapest online option (although it often is) but usually if you calculate the shipping cost of site X with their retail price and Amazon's with no shipping cost once a member, it's almost always worth it to just buy it on Amazon. Needless to say, if you don't shop online often, don't do it. It would be amazing if Amazon Prime membership came with a similar benefit like Reward Zone... you get points that turn into credit with the more you spend. I'm sure the Amazon credit card does... but I know for sure I don't need another way to accumulate debt. Oh yeah, one cool thing is that if you search online with Swagbucks... you can earn Amazon gift cards.

Reward Zone: I have to say that Best Buy's Reward Zone is pretty good. I get 10%-12% coupons in the mail just about every holiday. I know that if I miss the President's Day round, that the Memorial Day coupons are right around the corner. In addition, the more I spend the more points I get. Also, I have had a few friend's pick up flat screens there that didn't want reward zone, so I wreeped the benefits. They also have a specfic gamer program that for every $150 I spend on video game or related accessories, I get $10 in gift certificates. It's not enough for me to buy all my video games from BB, but if I want them that day or it's sold out on Amazon, it's enough for me to run down to the shop and pick it up. It's also makes me wait in line at thier shop instead of walking right in and out of Gamestop located directly beneath the BB I got to. Most of all, you don't have to get the Best Buy credit card to get Reward Zone benefits.

Amazon is generally cheaper since I pay for the Prime membership. But sometimes I just go to Best Buy.

Purchase Examples and Opinions - Best Buy vs. Amazon

Wii Accessories: Wiimote, Nunchuck, Skins, Nyko Wiimote Charger 4

All these things were anywhere from $2-$10 cheaper, with no shipping and no 8.25% CA sales tax, making the purchase from Amazon was a no brainer.

Video Games: PS3 and Wii

Generally are cheaper on Amazon except for new games which are the same MSRP. However, games that are a little older, like Mario Super Sluggers, I foolishly purchased from BB for $59.99 and realized then later that day (after I opened it) I realized it was selling on Amazon for $36.99. After CA sales tax, I would have save almost $20 by purchasing from Amazon. All in all if you MUST have it that day... go ahead and pick it up from Best Buy.

Slingbox Solo

The slingbox I purchased from Amazon was about $40 more expensive at Best Buy (and that's before tax).

Sold Out Wii, WiiFit and Mario Kart: Here is where Best Buy is huge. To wait around for Amazone to get stock of either of these items would take forever. Best Buy gets them in every Sunday for the most part. To buy these from one of the Amazon sub-retailers it would likely cost you more than MSRP. At least at Best Buy you always know you're getting the price the item is meant to sell for. All of these items I purchased from Best Buy happily, went home that day, played and didn't have to wait for Amazon.

In conclusion, I almost always buy from Amazon. With Prime membership and no tax, it just makes sense. However, if Amazon doesn't have it, I can call or go to BB, speak with a human and find out stock status on the item. If they don't have it then, they will usually call me when they have it back in stock. I earn Best Buy points and enjoy getting the coupons and gift certificates. If there was a Reward Zone program for Amazon, I guess the world would just be perfect...

Sling Media Slingbox SOLO (SB260-100)

As a guy on the go I am constantly away from home. I spend much of my time in New York City away from my home in Los Angeles. Most of my NYC friends are too cheap to purchase cable, thus the Slingbox solution. I purchased the Slingbox from Amazon for about $140 and it was most definitely worth it. I attached it too its own cable box from TWC (extra $20/mo) so I can access it without fighting with my cablebox hoarding girlfriend who lives at home. The cable box has its own DVR so I never will miss my programming. Yesterday, while flying back to LA from NYC on Virgin America, I was able to sign onto the VA provided wi-fi ($13/flight), gogo, and was able to watch my DVR programming on flight. Yes, I was on a seat in the sky watching my cablebox in at home. Amazing, huh? In my opinion these are the pros and cons of the Slingbox Solo:

Pros:

• Watch cable from anywhere (with internet - wired or wireless)
  
• Give friends view only password to Sling, so they can enjoy it while I'm not
• Works about 90% of the time
• Affordable price
• SlingPlayer interface is extremely easy to use
• Few streaming problems overall while watching

Cons:

• Picture quality is viewable but not great (Hulu is better for FOX or NBC programming)
• No picture quality difference between HD and SD programming when streamed
• When it doesn't work - it's really annoying
• Cannot accommodate video game controls (it would be incredible if I could play my Wii or PS3 from my CPU)
  

All in all I think this was an excellent purchase. I purchased my Slingbox on Amazon.